Machesney Park — A 3 year-old boy was injured when he was attacked Saturday afternoon by his aunt's dog, a pit bull mix, a Winnebago County sheriff's deputy said.
Ryan O'Connor, 7402 Scott Lane, was playing in the backyard of his aunt, Jackie Davis, 31 Liberty Blvd., when the dog attacked him, said Deputy Rocco Wagner. The boy suffered "puncture wounds on the face and back and severe lacerations on the back of the head," Wagner said.
The boy was released Saturday evening after treatment at Swedish American Hospital.
The dog, half pit bull and half British bulldog, was chained at the time of the attack, Wagner said. He said the dog was released, at the owner's request, to Winnebago County Animal Control and will be destroyed after an observation period.
Wagner said the same dog attacked a young girl last July.
Officials at Animal Control said they will hold the dog for a 10 day quarantine period before they destroy it. They said the dog had received its proper rabies shots. The observation period is additional protection.
William Taylor, 28 Wilshire Blvd., who lives across from Davis' yard, said he was gardening at the time of the attack and heard the dog "growling viciously."
"I looked up and saw the kid was underneath the dog," Taylor said. "I saw the dog taking vicious bites, so I started screaming and yelling at the dog. The dog just looked at me for a second, and the boy managed to pull himself out from underneath the dog.
"The dog was taking serious, vicious bites which really shook me," he said.
Taylor said he did not notice the boy playing in the yard before the attack. He did not know if something provoked the attack.
The Rockford Register Star, Rockford IL, May 01, 1988, p. 3A
Mar 25, 1988 Chicago Man With Pit Bull Shot Battling Cop
Chicago - A 21-year-old man who was allegedly intimidating people with his pit bull terrier was shot in the ear Wednesday night after he got into a fight with an undercover youth officer, whose gun discharged accidentally, police said.
Eric Baker, who gave police an address that turned out to be false, ``was panhandling money from people, using his pit bull,`` said Sgt. Paul Carroll of the Belmont Area. ``He was intimidating them.``
Baker approached Youth Officer Jose Reyes, of the special investigations unit, who was walking on the sidewalk in the 900 block of West Belmont Avenue, while the officer was checking reports that teenage prostitutes were in the area.
After Reyes refused Baker`s demand of money, Baker allegedly punched the plainclothes officer in the face, Carroll said. Baker then yelled to his dog, ``Sic him.``
Reyes yelled that he was a police officer and pulled out his gun, as Baker continued to fight with him. During the struggle a 16-year-old companion of Baker jumped into the fight, according to police.
Reyes` partner, Lawrence Corey, jumped from a nearby unmarked police car and pulled the teenager off the policeman and handcuffed him. As the fight continued, Reyes and Baker fell to the sidewalk, and the policeman`s gun accidentally discharged, police said.
The dog then bit Reyes in the right hand and in the lower left rib cage, causing a five-inch gash. Baker, who was charged with aggravated battery and attempted robbery, was in fair condition in Illinois Masonic Medical Center with a gunshot wound to his right ear. Reyes was treated and released from the same hospital.
The 16-year-old was charged with simple battery in a juvenile petition. The dog was turned over to the city animal control center.
In a separate shooting early Wednesday, a 62-year-old man described by police as ``a career criminal`` was wounded during a shootout with detectives who were trying to arrest him on charges of shooting at other officers.
Sidney Carver, who police said went to prison when he was 15 years old, was wounded from gunfire from three detectives who were staking out a second floor apartment at 912 W. Agatite Ave., according to Carroll.
Carver was being sought on warrants charging that he had robbed the Brown Elephant resale shop, 3508 N. Broadway, once last summer and again on March 3. While he was fleeing the last time, Carver allegedly shot at two tactical unit officers who were responding to the report of a robbery in progress.
Police learned that Carver was staying with a friend at the Agatite Avenue courtyard building. Detectives John Fitzsimmons, Ronald Yawger and Joseph Guzolek, of the Belmont Area violent crimes unit, staked out the apartment and when Carver open the door at about 3 a.m., he began shooting at the three police officers, Carroll said.
Carver surrendered after being shot in the left arm. Carver was in good condition in Weiss Memorial Hospital. He was charged with two counts of armed robbery and four counts of attempted murder, Carroll said.
Read more:
Chicago Tribune
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1988-03-25/news/8803030571_1_pit-bull-police-charged
http://trib.in/1Fb9yj8
Feb 03, 1988 Dog Fights in Abandoned Building Lead to Arrest of Four Youths
Chicago - Four South Side juveniles were arrested last week after police discovered that they had been holding dog fights in an abandoned apartment building on the 800 block of S. Oakwood Blvd.
Read more:
Hyde Park Herald
Read more:
Hyde Park Herald
Jan 03, 1988 Rockford looking at Pit Bull Ban Proposals
Rockford - Proposals for an ordinance that would prohibit or restrict pit bulls within city limits were ordered Tuesday by the City Council Codes and Regulations.
Ald. Patrick Curran, R-2nd, who sat in on the meeting, said punishing a pit bull after an attack is not enough.
"Apparently, there is an inordinate percentage of pit bulldog attacks without provocation -- sooner or later, someone's going to get it." he said.
Rockford Register Star, Rockford, IL, February 03, 1988, p. 3A
Ald. Patrick Curran, R-2nd, who sat in on the meeting, said punishing a pit bull after an attack is not enough.
"Apparently, there is an inordinate percentage of pit bulldog attacks without provocation -- sooner or later, someone's going to get it." he said.
Rockford Register Star, Rockford, IL, February 03, 1988, p. 3A
Dec 30, 1987 Owner Of Pit Bull Facing Murder Charge
Chicago - A $200,000 bond was set Tuesday for a pit bull owner who was charged with murder after he and his dog allegedly attacked a man in a quarrel over a woman.
Charles Gramer, 27, of 3035 W. Wilson Ave., was charged with murdering Harold Bechtel, using a knife and his black pit bull as weapons.
By Linnet Myers
Read more:
Chicago Tribune Accessed: 2012-01-30. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/655YvhIvq)
Charles Gramer, 27, of 3035 W. Wilson Ave., was charged with murdering Harold Bechtel, using a knife and his black pit bull as weapons.
By Linnet Myers
Read more:
Chicago Tribune Accessed: 2012-01-30. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/655YvhIvq)
Nov 10, 1987 Justice Pit Bull Attack Linked To Boy`s `Feud` With Family
Justice — A 16-year-old Justice boy who allegedly ordered two pit bull terriers to attack a 10-year-old neighbor girl had been ``feuding`` with the girl`s parents for several years and had been reported to police for harassing the family, police in the southwest suburb said Monday.
The family and the boy ``have had persistent problems,`` Justice Police Cpl. Steven Kooper said. ``They were feuding. They had been fighting for some time.``
The family and the boy`s family live across 79th Avenue from each other, and the Sunday afternoon dog attack occurred about 50 yards from their two homes, police said.
Kooper testified at a hearing Monday in Cook County Juvenile Court that the boy had denied ordering the dogs to attack, saying the dogs got loose accidentally while he was walking them. The dogs belonged to friends of the boy`s family, police said.
The girl, Brandy Hopper, underwent 2 1/2 hours of surgery Sunday night at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn to repair damage from the mauling. She was listed in good condition Monday, hospital officials said.
The dogs chewed out a 3-by-6-inch section of the girl`s left thigh, the girl`s parents and police said, and left deep bite marks in her right thigh.
A plastic surgeon sewed some of the torn flesh on the girl`s left thigh back into place, the girl`s mother, Sandra Merkle, said. But Merkle said her daughter may need skin grafts.
``It was such a big rip. It`s like the shape of that dog`s jaw,`` she said.
Justice police said Monday that they have responded to frequent complaints that the boy had harassed the family and threatened Brandy`s siblings.
Merkle said the boy`s actions were unprovoked. ``He`s just a neighborhood punk,`` she said. ``He does it all over town. His parents know we`ve been fighting.``
At the Monday court appearance, testimony showed that the boy has an extensive criminal record for theft, burglary and criminal damage to property dating back to age 11.
Also in court, Kooper said Justice police have documented problems between the boy and the family for at least five years.
The boy was charged Sunday with aggravated battery for allegedly ordering the dogs to attack Brandy. Police said witnesses, including Merkle, heard the boy shout ``sic her`` to the dogs and saw him drop the two leashes on which he was holding the animals when he saw Brandy approaching.
Brandy was returning home with groceries she had bought at a neighborhood store, said her stepfather, Rusty Merkle.
Associate Judge Charles Barish ordered the boy held in the Juvenile Detention Center at least until Friday, when he is to appear with a lawyer. State`s attorneys argued that the boy should be held because of the brutality of the attack.
The owners of the dogs, Jerry and Kimberly Roth, of Bridgeview, have been charged with obstruction of justice, a misdemeanor, for allegedly disobeying police orders by taking the dogs into their house after the attack and allowing the boy to hide there, Kooper said.
Kooper said the Roths told police that they had given the boy, a family friend, permission to walk the dogs Sunday afternoon. The Roths live about three blocks from where the attack occurred.
Relatives of the Roths said Monday that the couple was declining to comment about the incident.
The dogs are being held at the Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge. Allen Glisch, the manager there, said the dogs were being watched for signs of rabies.
Read more:
Chicago Tribune
http://trib.in/1RmDM63
The family and the boy ``have had persistent problems,`` Justice Police Cpl. Steven Kooper said. ``They were feuding. They had been fighting for some time.``
The family and the boy`s family live across 79th Avenue from each other, and the Sunday afternoon dog attack occurred about 50 yards from their two homes, police said.
Kooper testified at a hearing Monday in Cook County Juvenile Court that the boy had denied ordering the dogs to attack, saying the dogs got loose accidentally while he was walking them. The dogs belonged to friends of the boy`s family, police said.
The girl, Brandy Hopper, underwent 2 1/2 hours of surgery Sunday night at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn to repair damage from the mauling. She was listed in good condition Monday, hospital officials said.
The dogs chewed out a 3-by-6-inch section of the girl`s left thigh, the girl`s parents and police said, and left deep bite marks in her right thigh.
A plastic surgeon sewed some of the torn flesh on the girl`s left thigh back into place, the girl`s mother, Sandra Merkle, said. But Merkle said her daughter may need skin grafts.
``It was such a big rip. It`s like the shape of that dog`s jaw,`` she said.
Justice police said Monday that they have responded to frequent complaints that the boy had harassed the family and threatened Brandy`s siblings.
Merkle said the boy`s actions were unprovoked. ``He`s just a neighborhood punk,`` she said. ``He does it all over town. His parents know we`ve been fighting.``
At the Monday court appearance, testimony showed that the boy has an extensive criminal record for theft, burglary and criminal damage to property dating back to age 11.
Also in court, Kooper said Justice police have documented problems between the boy and the family for at least five years.
The boy was charged Sunday with aggravated battery for allegedly ordering the dogs to attack Brandy. Police said witnesses, including Merkle, heard the boy shout ``sic her`` to the dogs and saw him drop the two leashes on which he was holding the animals when he saw Brandy approaching.
Brandy was returning home with groceries she had bought at a neighborhood store, said her stepfather, Rusty Merkle.
Associate Judge Charles Barish ordered the boy held in the Juvenile Detention Center at least until Friday, when he is to appear with a lawyer. State`s attorneys argued that the boy should be held because of the brutality of the attack.
The owners of the dogs, Jerry and Kimberly Roth, of Bridgeview, have been charged with obstruction of justice, a misdemeanor, for allegedly disobeying police orders by taking the dogs into their house after the attack and allowing the boy to hide there, Kooper said.
Kooper said the Roths told police that they had given the boy, a family friend, permission to walk the dogs Sunday afternoon. The Roths live about three blocks from where the attack occurred.
Relatives of the Roths said Monday that the couple was declining to comment about the incident.
The dogs are being held at the Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge. Allen Glisch, the manager there, said the dogs were being watched for signs of rabies.
Read more:
Chicago Tribune
http://trib.in/1RmDM63
Oct 21, 1987 Evanston Law Aims to prevent Pit Bull Attacks
Oct 21, 1987 Law May Restrain Dog Owners
Evanston - Pit bull owners beware - Evanston doesn't like your pets.
The Evanston Police Services Committee made that clear last night when, after a public hearing, it passed "the nuclear weapon of animal control ordinances," according to one alderman. This first-ever legislation, if approved by the city council, would require owners of pit bulls and other dangerous dogs to restrain their animals from attacking passers-by.
Although the proposal did not refer to any specific breed, Ald. John Bleveans (7th) said the nationwide uproar over pit bulls this summer prompted the aldermen to draft another dog control ordinance. Extensive leash, license and noise control laws already exist.
"I live next door to five pit bulls. If we had known that when we bought the house, we never would've bought the house," said 2nd Ward resident Leslie Swenson. "The noise level and the smell are horrendous."
The three-page ordinance defines dangerous dogs as those with "a known propensity to attack unprovoked, to cause injury or to otherwise endanger the safety of human beings or domestic animals.
At Swenson's suggestion, the ordinance was amended to restrict residents to one dog per single-family dwelling. Currently, animal lovers can own as many dogs as they wish.
The ordinance also prohibits dangerous dog owners to keep theri pets on a porch or patio and requires the animals to be confined to a pen 6-feet high.
Furthermore, the ordinance says, the animals must be licensed and insured for not less than $100,000. First-time violators could be fined as much as $500 and repeat offenders could be sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Evanston Police Cmdr. Frank Kaminski said he hadn't received any complaints of residents being attacked, but that the ordinance was a good preventive measure.
The Daily Northwestern, Ocot 21, 1987, p.7
Evanston - Pit bull owners beware - Evanston doesn't like your pets.
The Evanston Police Services Committee made that clear last night when, after a public hearing, it passed "the nuclear weapon of animal control ordinances," according to one alderman. This first-ever legislation, if approved by the city council, would require owners of pit bulls and other dangerous dogs to restrain their animals from attacking passers-by.
Although the proposal did not refer to any specific breed, Ald. John Bleveans (7th) said the nationwide uproar over pit bulls this summer prompted the aldermen to draft another dog control ordinance. Extensive leash, license and noise control laws already exist.
"I live next door to five pit bulls. If we had known that when we bought the house, we never would've bought the house," said 2nd Ward resident Leslie Swenson. "The noise level and the smell are horrendous."
The three-page ordinance defines dangerous dogs as those with "a known propensity to attack unprovoked, to cause injury or to otherwise endanger the safety of human beings or domestic animals.
At Swenson's suggestion, the ordinance was amended to restrict residents to one dog per single-family dwelling. Currently, animal lovers can own as many dogs as they wish.
The ordinance also prohibits dangerous dog owners to keep theri pets on a porch or patio and requires the animals to be confined to a pen 6-feet high.
Furthermore, the ordinance says, the animals must be licensed and insured for not less than $100,000. First-time violators could be fined as much as $500 and repeat offenders could be sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Evanston Police Cmdr. Frank Kaminski said he hadn't received any complaints of residents being attacked, but that the ordinance was a good preventive measure.
The Daily Northwestern, Ocot 21, 1987, p.7
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